I am back – Chapter 190

After that, we spent quite a bit of time together, but I didn’t take on any more responsibilities.

People were being cautious around us.

To be honest, thinking back to when we attended the ball at the royal palace, it wouldn’t have been strange if someone talked to us, but after they actually saw my sister and me kiss, the nobles didn’t approach us anymore. Rather, they treated us like beings that you shouldn’t accidentally upset.

“I didn’t see it myself, but…”

During our tea time together—the Princess, my sister, and I—the Princess said this.

“Um… I heard that the two of you shared a kiss at the ball.”

“Uh…”

The Princess was just a year younger than me, but she was clearly an adult. In fact, by the standards of this world, she was of an age where marriage wouldn’t be unusual. Though, due to various problems, marriage had been postponed for her.

So, well.

Even though she looked a bit innocent and acted that way, she was someone who knew what she was doing.

“Yes, that was the case.”

At my calm response, the Princess’s face turned red. My sister’s face also flushed.

Actually, my sister was the one who initiated the kiss first.

Still, it could be said that I had developed a certain level of tolerance. Well, yeah. Since that atmosphere was being openly cultivated in the Elf Capital City, to be honest, it was a bit much to hide it now. The soldiers and knights who accompanied us had already seen us walking down that white path in our white dresses.

To be honest, the dresses and crowns we wore that day were packed up and loaded onto the carriage as our belongings. It seemed they were gifts from the elves.

Well… to be honest, I wondered if I would have occasions to wear them in daily life, but there are always people who say it’s not renting a wedding dress, so I decided to accept it since it was given to me for free.

Also, I was worried about how to transport the World Tree’s fruits and leaves, which I received in heaps, back home.

“‘Feel free to come whenever you’ve used it all’—from that, it seems like the quantity isn’t enough to significantly harm the World Tree, which is a relief.”

“Um… that must be the reason why nobles reacted that way about your… affectionate display…”

Still blushing, the Princess spoke.

“Do you think that might be related?”

“Hmm…”

At my question, the Princess tilted her head, seemingly in deep thought before answering.

“Did you know that most nobles are conservative?”

“Yes, I know.”

Though the nobles close to the center understood that if they were against my stance, their lives could be at risk, there were times when local nobles desperately needed my help but still resisted my policies. As a result, Kalia, the one in our party, often shone even more brightly.

From their perspective, Kalia, the Duke’s daughter, was a much more fearsome presence than me, a ‘commoner.’

And Kalia always demonstrated her power as that ‘fearsome being.’

Whenever there was a complaint about my existence or any refusal of my plans or supplies, Kalia swiftly sent letters and messages to the royal family. And when the royal family received such reports, they promptly sent letters back to the local lords, who would then be terrified and provide us with assistance or goods.

Unlike the central nobles, whose political center occasionally shifted and who could change allegiances multiple times, the local lords had been passing down their positions for generations, making such issues more serious.

“Though they can’t say it openly due to their conservativeness, your kind of… affection is quite an unusual sight for nobles. But at the same time, both of you are people recognized by the Goddess, and there’s a high possibility that the Goddess acknowledged your relationship too. So they are left wondering, ‘Is everything I thought wrong?’”

After saying that, the Princess took a sip of tea, seemingly feeling a bit hot.

“Though it’s a hush-hush topic, there are circumstantial pieces of evidence regarding kings who revealed their homosexuality when you look back at the history of the kingdom…”

“Oh, I heard that from Louis.”

“Is that so? Then I don’t need to explain it to you.”

Clearing her throat, the Princess continued.

“Those kings generally have an image of being tyrants. In fact, in some cases, it’s somewhat exaggerated because they are considered tyrants. After all, homosexuality is often treated as a representation of sexual debauchery—like the idea that since they’ve taken all the women, they turn to men for more.”

Hmm.

It seems this was a conversation that couldn’t be avoided by the Princess, me, or my sister, in various ways.

However, aside from that, there was no one else but Kalia who talked so candidly about the central nobility. Since Kalia was busy with official duties, the only member of royalty or nobility we could talk to was the Princess, so that explained why we were listening to her.

In fact, I had learned a lot from the Princess too, just as I did with Kalia.

Although she had admired knights since childhood, the Princess didn’t possess talent as great as Kalia’s, so she enjoyed hearing about our exploits.

At first, we only picked out heroic tales to tell her, but eventually, that type ran out. The battlefield had far more gruesome stories than glorious battles for knights.

Though the Princess listened to those tales without skipping any parts.

Conversely, I was able to frequently hear about the noble mindset from the Princess, and I could learn about the etiquette that needed to be upheld.

“But now, since even the part about ‘sexual debauchery’ has reached a situation that requires some modifications, it must be confusing. In the future, even if someone spreads rumors saying, ‘That person embraces their same gender!’ there will be responses like, ‘But the Hero did that, why?’”

After barely wrapping up the discussion about the kings’ debauchery, the Princess shrugged her shoulders playfully and said,

“Moreover, they probably thought that the manners they’ve known would be distinctly different from the ones we’ve been maintaining. And who knows, they might think that if they improperly touch it, the Hero might become enraged. It’s funny to have such thoughts now.”

“I see.”

Still, thanks to the Princess’s explanation, I felt a bit more at ease.

At least it meant that up until we left here, nobles wouldn’t bother us.

And I was also relieved that we wouldn’t need to freeze up in front of the public. The kingdom was still being cautious about revealing me to the public.

Of course, it seemed that various stories had been circulating among the nobles, among the soldiers guarding the palace, or among the busybodies who came in and out of the royal palace, eventually reaching the people of the kingdom. Well, even so, it was impossible to keep hiding it forever.

“Oh, by the way…”

While I was lost in my thoughts, the Princess leaned slightly towards us and asked.

Unconsciously, we bent forward in return. After all, there was no one in this garden to eavesdrop on our conversation.

The Princess, slightly blushing as if she found it embarrassing, nonetheless asked with a hint of curiosity.

“What will you do about children? Do you plan to make them yourselves, perhaps?”

“…Huh?”

In that instant, I was taken aback and responded like that.

And I could feel my face heat up in an instant. My sister, who had been silently listening until then, felt the same way.

As both of us turned red and fell silent, even the Princess, who brought it up, turned red.

…Although we were adults and ‘know’ things, considering that those who fall into the ‘conservative’ category include nobles and royalty, it’s not surprising if the Princess knew little about sex.

Freely dating was probably beyond a dream, and for married women, it’d be expected for their first experience to be with their husbands… well, due to political or other reasons, remarriage naturally happened, and high-ranking nobles had openly existing ‘lovers’, but even so, that wasn’t something that was publicly acknowledged.

And it was often the case that women started having lovers only after marriage. It wouldn’t be odd for the Princess not to know much about sex.

“Um, Princess…”

And I calmly said to the naive Princess.

“… A sexual relationship between women doesn’t result in children.”

“Yes?”

The Princess briefly looked lost at my words before quickly shaking her head.

Her already flushed face turned even redder.

“No, no, I know that!? I was just asking if you were going to choose a magical method!?”

““… Huh?””

And this time, both my sister and I asked in unison.